Sail launching device

ABSTRACT

A sail launching device for initially-furled sails, such as a spinnaker or other sails. The device includes a panel which is initially encircled about the furled sail. The edges of the panel are provided with readily disengageable Velcro fasteners. When the panel is raised, the Velcro fasteners are disengaged by the pressure of the sail as the latter is unfurled.

nited States Patent [191 Mintey [111 3,828,712 1 Aug. 13, 1974 SAILLAUNCHING DEVICE [76] Inventor: Montague R. Mintey, 10580 Arnwood Rd,Lake View Terrace, Calif. 91342 [22] Filed: May 14, 1973 21 Appl. No;360,395

[52] US. Cl. 114/104 [51] Int. Cl B63h 9/04 [58] Field of Search 114/39,102, 103, 104,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,595,110 4/1952 Steube114/104 3,157,149 11/1964 Manchester ..l14/l04 Primary ExaminerTrygve M.Blix Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Fulwider Patton Rieber Lee & Utecht [57]ABSTRACT A sail launching device for initially-furled sails, such as aspinnaker or other sails. The device includes a panel which is initiallyencircled about the furled sail. The edges of the panel are providedwith readily disengageable Velcro fasteners. When the panel is raised,the Velcro fasteners are disengaged by the pressure of the sail as thelatter is unfurled.

6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED AUG 1 31974 SHEEIv 2 OF 3BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention:

The present invention relates to the art of sailing.

2. Description of the Prior Art:

It has been heretofore proposed to retain a spinnaker or other sails ina furled condition as such sail is raised to its working position bymeans of a plurality of longitudinally spaced stops. Such stopsgenerally take the form of weak thread. Considerable difficulty isexperienced with this arrangement however, since if the thread is tooweak, the sail will become unfurled before it is completely raised. Onthe other hand, if the stops are too strong, the sail cannot be unfurledand it is then necessary to lower the sail and re-apply stops.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a major object of the present inventionto provide a launching device for an initially-furled sail which willpositively retain the sail in its furled condition as such sail israised to its working position, with such launching device then beingreadily openable so as to permit the sail to be quickly unfurled.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a saillaunching device of the aforedescribed nature which is foolproof inoperation.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a saillaunching device of the aforedescribed nature utilizing an elongatedpanel of lightweight flexible material provided with readilydisengageable fastening means extendingalong the longitudinal edges ofsuch panel, with such fastening means being readily disengageable by theexertion of a sideward pull on the longitudinal edges of the panel.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a saillaunching device of the aforedescribed nature which will positivelyretain the sail in its furled condition even under rough sea and highwind conditrons.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description, when taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a broken elevational view ofa preferred form of sail launching device embodying the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but showing such device before it isencircled about a furled sail;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 but showing said deviceencircled about a furled sail;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken in enlarged scale along line 5-5 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view showing said launching device beinghoistedthrough the hatch of a sailboat;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing said launching device in itsraised position; and

FIGS. 8 and 9 are views similar to FIGS. 6 and 7 showing the launchingdevice as it is being opened to release the furled sail.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings andparticularly FIGS. l-5 thereof, a preferred form of sail launchingdevice embodying the present invention includes an elongated panel P ofa lightweight flexible material such as nylon. The main body 10 of panelP is seamed to be of a generally elongated trapezoidal configurationtapering inwardly from its lower portion. The bottom 12 of panel P is ofarcuate shape. The longitudinal edges of panel P are provided with firstand second readily disengageable fastening means 14 and 16, preferablytaking the form of an easily releasable tape such as that sold under thetrademark Velcro, and disclosed in U.S. Letters Pat. Nos. 3,417,528;3,154,837; and 3,192,589, such tapes l4 and 16 being complementary. Whenthe tapes are pressed together, they will remain interlocked togetheruntil a sideward pull thereon. It will be noted that the tapes 14 and 16are interrupted between the lower end of panel body 12 and panel bottom12. It will also be noted that short auxiliary Velcro tapes 20 and 22are positioned upwardly of the open portions 24 and 26 of panel Pbetween the upper and lower lengths of tape. Snap shackles 28 and 30 aresecured to the edges of panel P at open portions 24 and 26,respectively.

In the use of the sail launching device of the present invention, afurled sail S, such as a spinnaker, is placed upon the open panel P inthe manner indicated in FIG. 2. It will be observed that the length ofsail S is somewhat greater than the length of panel P. It will also benoted that the tack 42 and the clew 40 of sail S are aligned with theopen portions 26 and 24 of panel P. Further, that the head 44 of sail Sextends beyond the top of panel P.

Referring next additionally to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, panel P is manuallyencircled about the furled sail S and Velcro pads 14 and 16 andauxiliary pads 20 and 22 are pressed together so as to becomplementarily engaged thereby retaining the panel P encircled aboutfurled sail S. In this position the open portions 26 and 24 of the paneldefine aligned side openings for the tack 42 and clew 40 of the sail.Additionally, the head 44 of sail S extends through the open upper endof the encircled panel. If desired, an auxiliary tie 48 may be tiedaround the lower portion of panel P, the bight of such tie being securedto the panel.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-9, the operation of the said launching deviceof the present invention in setting a sail is shown. Thus, there isdepicted the forward portion of a sailboat B having a mast 52. Aspinnaker pole 53 is shown attached to the lower front portion of mast52. Sailboat B is provided with a hatch 54 within which the panel P andits encircled sail S may be stored until such sail is ready to beraised.

In FIG. 6, the panel P is shown in the process of being raised out ofhatch 54 by means of the boats spinnaker halyard 51. Referring next toFIG. 7, the panel P is shown after it has been raised to the properelevation for launching the sail. At this time, the spinnaker guy 56 andspinnaker sheet 58 will have been secured to the tack 42 and clew 40 ofsail S. It should also be noted that the snap shackle 28 has beenengaged with the spinnaker sheet 58. Referring next to FIG. 8, theauxiliary tie 48 has been disengaged, and a rearward pull has beenexerted on the spinnaker sheet 58. Such pull serves to release the lowerends of the Velcro tapes 14 and 16 and 20 and 22. Further pulling on thespinnaker sheet 58 serves to progressively release the Velcro tapesupwardly along their lengths thereby exposing the lower portion of thespinnaker S. Finally referring to FIG. 9, as the wind fills thespinnaker S, the force thereof applied by the spinnaker to the edges ofthe panel P will complete the opening operation of the Velcro tapes.

When the edges of panel P have been completely disengaged from oneanother, the spinnaker S will have been filled with wind and the openedpanel will drop towards the deck of boat B. The panel may be readilyretrieved since its snap shackle 28 remains affixed to the spinnakersheet 58. After being retrieved, the panel may be encircled about asecond spinnaker (not shown) so that such spinnaker will be availablefor immediate use. It should also be noted that where the spinnaker isset on the side of the boat opposite that shown, the spinnaker guy 56then becomes the spinnaker sheet while spinnaker sheet 58 becomes thespinnaker guy. Under these circumstances, the new spinnaker sheet wouldbe engaged with the snap shackle 30 when the launcher is employed.

Various modifications and changes may be made with respect to theforegoing detailed description without departing from the spirit of thepresent invention.

1 claim: 1. A launching device for a furled sail, said devicecomprising:

an elongated panel of a lightweight flexible material of a lengthapproximately that of said sail, said pane] being separate from saidsail; and

first and second readily disengageable fastening means along thelongitudinal edges of said panel, said fastening means being pressedtogether to be complementarily engaged and said fastening means beingdisengaged by a sideward pull exerted thereon whereby said panel may beencircled about said furled sail whereafter said fastening means areengaged and said panel and said encircled sail are raised to said sail sworking position, with said fastening means then being disengaged torelease said panel from around said sail.

2. A launching device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said fasteningmeans consist of Velcro tapes.

3. A launching device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said sail is aspinnaker having its head extending beyond the top of thesail-encircling panel, and said fastening means are interrupted todefine open portions at the bottom of said sail-encircling panel throughwhich extend the tack and the clew of said spinnaker.

4. A launching device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said fasteningmeans consist of Velcro tapes.

5. A launching device as set forth in claim 3 wherein the edges of saidpanel are provided with shackles at said open portions.

6. A launching device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said fasteningmeans consists of Velcro tapes.

1. A launching device for a furled sail, said device comprising: anelongated panel of a lightweight flexible material of a lengthapproximately that of said sail, said panel being separate from saidsail; and first and second readily disengageable fastening means alongthe longitudinal edges of said panel, said fastening means being pressedtogether to be complementarily engaged and said fastening means beingdisengaged by a sideward pull exerted thereon whereby said panel may beencircled about said furled sail whereafter said fastening means areengaged and said panel and said encircled sail are raised to saidsail''s working position, with said fastening means then beingdisengaged to release said panel from around said sail.
 2. A launchingdevice as set forth in claim 1 wherein said fastening means consist ofVelcro tapes.
 3. A launching device as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidsail is a spinnaker having its head extending beyond the top of thesail-encircling panel, and said fastening means are interrupted todefine open portions at the bottom of said sail-encircling panel throughwhich extend the tack and the clew of said spinnaker.
 4. A launchingdevice as set forth in claim 3 wherein said fastening means consist ofVelcro tapes.
 5. A launching device as set forth in claim 3 wherein theedges of said panel are provided with shackles at said open portions. 6.A launching device as set forth in claim 5 wherein said fastening meansconsists of Velcro tapes.